pp. 9-12, The South Pacific, pp. 13-25, The Coral Sea Summary

The South Pacific— The narrator thinks about the people he met in the South Pacific while serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. Unlike the large land battles of Europe, in the South Pacific, soldiers and navy personnel are usually stuck on small islands. Between horrible battles there is a lot of logistics work. Admiral Kester is remembered as the leader of the attack on the island of Kuralei. The narrator remembers him as having a stuck zipper and becoming enraged about it.

The Coral Sea— In mid-April 1942, the narrator is an officer sent to a small observation and plane repair station on Vanicoro Island in the New Hebrides. The station sends out regular radio reports each day on enemy...